POSTTRAUMATIC-STRESS-DISORDER AMONG FEMALE JUVENILE-OFFENDERS

Objective: While there is a growing body of evidence that psychopathol ogy is common among incarcerated boys, relatively little is known abou t the prevalence and manifestations of mental health problems among in carcerated girls. This study examines the incidence of posttraumatic s tress disorder (PTSD) in a sample of 96 adolescent female offenders an d its relation to socioemotional adjustment. Method: Self-report quest ionnaires were used to tap socioemotional adjustment, and a semistruct ured interview was conducted to determine PTSD symptomatology. Results : The results indicate that the rate of PTSD among incarcerated female delinquents not only is higher than that in the general population bu t surpasses the incidence of PTSD among incarcerated male delinquents. In addition, those who suffer from PTSD also tend to exhibit higher l evels of distress and lower levels of self-restraint. Conclusions: The se findings provide a starting point for more detailed investigations of the relations between trauma, psychopathology, and violence and sug gest that the study of trauma may offer a new way of looking at links between victim and perpetrator.